Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

John Eglinton Montgomerie, CB (23 December 1825 – 10 September 1902) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer. Montgomerie was born at Dankeith,

Symington, South Ayrshire Symington is a conservation village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located in Symington parish, covering , and lies close to the A77 road from Ayr to Glasgow. Its church, built in 1160, remains one of the finest examples of a Norman church i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1825, the son of William Eglinton Montgomerie (1789–1852) by his wife Susanna Fraser Anderson (1800-1884), daughter of John Anderson, merchant of London and Susanna Fraser. His father was from the

Clan Montgomery Clan Montgomery (also Montgomerie) is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. History Origins of the Clan The Montgomeries emigrated from Wales to Scotland in the 12th century with the FitzAlans. The Cambro-Norman family derives its surname ...

, and a paternal descendant of

Alexander Montgomerie, 6th Earl of Eglinton Alexander Montgomerie, 6th Earl of Eglinton (1588–1661) was a Scottish aristocrat and soldier, originally known as Sir Alexander Seton of Foulstruther. Life He was the third son of Robert Seton, 1st Earl of Winton by his wife Lady Margaret ...

(1588–1661). 2 x great-nephew of

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...

, in 1881 he was visiting his 1st cousin once removed, Richard Alexander Oswald (1841-1921) at

Auchencruive Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927, the estate ...

. Oswald was the 2 x great nephew of

George Oswald George Oswald of Scotstoun (1735–1819) was a Scottish merchant of Glasgow. In 1797 he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow. Life He was the son of the Rev. James Oswald (1703–1793), and nephew of the merchant Richard Oswald (1705? ...

. He entered the Royal Navy in 1840, holding the rank of Captain from 24 November 1862; Rear-Admiral from 09 Mar 1878; Vice-Admiral from 08 July 1884 and Admiral from 15 December 1888. He served in China during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

, for which he received the

Second China War Medal The Second China War Medal was issued by the British Government in 1861 to members of the British and Indian armies and Royal Navy who took part in the Second Opium War of 1857 to 1860 against China. The medal was designed by William Wyon. The ...

. He was Naval Aide-de-camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

1876 to 1878, became vice-admiral in 1884 and retired as

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. In 1871, Montgomerie was Captain of

HMS Blanche (1867) HMS ''Blanche'' was a 1760-ton, 6-gun wooden screw sloop built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1860s by Chatham Dockyard.Bastock, p. 50 She was sent to the Australia Station in January 1868, arriving in April 1868. She undertook a punitive acti ...

. and between 1872–1875,

HMS Caledonia Five ships and three shore establishments of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Caledonia'' after the Latin name for Scotland: Ships * was a 3-gun brig launched in 1807. She was captured by the Americans in 1812, and put into service as . ...

He held the offices of Deputy Lieutenant (DL) and Justice of the Peace (JP) for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, and was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB). In 1887, he was a director of the Ardrossan Harbour Company when, having been moved from the private ownership of the Earl of Eglinton, the company embarked upon an expansion programme to increase trade. Plans were in place to work with the Caledonian Railway Company with the primary objective of connecting the coal fields and iron works of

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

with Ardrossen.’’Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald 25 February 1887, page 1, column 2’’, in online database Find My Past (subscription required) accessed 19 August 2019. He died unmarried at Newfield,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

on 10 September 1902. and is buried in the family grave alongside his paternal grandparents, parents, aunt, sister Elizabeth and brother

Roger Montgomerie Roger Montgomerie, , (22 October 1828 – 25 October 1880) was a British Conservative politician. Born 22 October 1828, 4th son of 9 children to William Eglinton Montgomerie and Susanna Fraser Anderson''Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald 20 October ...

Dreghorn Dreghorn is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Irvine town centre, on the old main road from Irvine to Kilmarnock. It is sited on a ridge between two rivers. As archaeological excavations near the village centre have found a signifi ...

Churchyard and New Cemetery, North

References

1825 births 1902 deaths Royal Navy admirals {{UK-navy-bio-stub